Thursday, September 29, 2011

09/29/2011
SYDNEY — A national obsession
with border security, the legacy of outdated racist policies, and fears
over job security have made asylum-seekers one of Australia’s thorniest
political problems, experts say.

Boatpeople arrivals have for
years prompted heated debate in Australia, with some deriding them as
“queue-jumpers” taking the place of other needy refugees, and others
seeing them as desperate people in need of protection.

The issue
can be an electoral game-changer and politicians have battled to balance
intense voter sentiment, national obligations toward refugees, and
establishing a deterrent to unauthorized and sometimes fatal sea
journeys.

“There’s something in the national imagination that’s
sparked by the arrival of boats on our northern borders,” said
high-profile immigration researcher David Corlett, who also works as a
consultant to refugee groups..... MORE

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"But Corlett said the nation of 22 million was concerned about asylum-seekers “taking goods and services that they weren’t entitled to,” a fear heightened in 2010 when nearly 7,000 mostly Afghans, Sri Lankans and Iranians poured in.

"Australian governments since federation have strictly controlled migration, implementing in 1901 the “White Australia” policy which favoured immigrants from western Europe and shunned those from Asia and elsewhere."